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William Wilberforce, the British parliamentarian and abolitionist, told his colleagues, “Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.”

Friday, October 06, 2006

NO Fence, NO Border, NO Sovereignty - We've been had...again.

"SUCKERS!"

Someone asked how to find how their rep voted on this last minute deal/Scam to prevent a fence from being built. There was no "vote" by our congress, these are "instructions" from "the leaders" in total contrast to the bill that was passed and signed to appease the masses. NOW, you can kiss this republic goodbye if we're stupid enough to keep electing these people.

But today, everyone is too interested in a pervert resigning from Congress to notice our congressional check and balance formula MEANS NOTHING. There goes one!

The 9th circuit court of appeals ruled today it is discrimination to ask for citizenship proof to vote. That should finish off Randy Graff in Arizona. So the courts are worthless as a check. There goes two!

WASHINGTON — No sooner did Congress authorize construction of a 698-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexican border last week than lawmakers rushed to approve separate legislation that ensures it will never be built, at least not as advertised, according to Republican lawmakers and immigration experts.

GOP leaders have singled out the fence as one of the primary accomplishments of the recently completed session. Many lawmakers plan to highlight their $1.2 billion down payment on its construction as they campaign in the weeks before the midterm elections.

But shortly before recessing late last Friday, the House and Senate gave the Bush administration leeway to distribute the money to a combination of projects, not just the physical barrier along the southern border. The money may also be spent on roads, technology and "tactical infrastructure" to support the Homeland Security Department's preferred option of a "virtual fence."

What's more, in a late-night concession to win over wavering Republicans, GOP congressional leaders pledged in writing that Native American tribes (like the one tribe who gets paid for smuggling and doesn't want a fence!), members of Congress, governors and local leaders would get a say in "the exact placement" of any structure and that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff would have the flexibility to use alternatives "when fencing is ineffective or impractical."

The loopholes leave the Bush administration with authority to decide where, when and how long a fence will be built, except for small stretches east of San Diego and in western Arizona. Homeland Security officials have proposed a fence half as long, lawmakers said.

"It's one thing to authorize. It's another thing to actually appropriate the money and do it," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

The fine-print distinction between what Congress says it will do and what it actually pays for is a time-honored result of the checks and balances between lawmakers who oversee agencies and those who hold their purse strings.

In this case, it also reflects the GOP's political calculations that voters do not mind the details, and that key players — including the administration, local leaders and the Mexican government — oppose a fence-only approach, analysts said.

President Bush signed the $34.8 billion homeland-security budget bill Wednesday without referring to the barrier. Instead, he highlighted the $1.2 billion that Congress provided for an unspecified blend of fencing, vehicle barriers, lighting and technology such as ground-based radar, cameras and sensors.

"That's what the people of this country want," the president said. "They want to know that we're modernizing the border so we can better secure the border."

Bush and Chertoff have said repeatedly that enforcement alone will not work and that they want limited dollars spent elsewhere, such as on a temporary-worker program to ease pressure on the border. At an estimated $3 million to $10 million per mile, the double-layered barrier would cost more than $1.2 billion.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., who chairs the Senate subcommittee that funds the Department of Homeland Security, said that before the legislation was approved, the department had planned to build 320 miles of fencing, secure 500 miles of hard-to-traverse areas by blocking roads, and electronically monitor the rest of the 2,000-mile-long frontier.

"I think there'll be fencing where the department feels that it makes sense," Gregg said, estimating that "at least 300 to 400 miles" will be built.

Congress withheld $950 million of the $1.2 billion, pending a breakdown by Chertoff of how he plans to spend the money. It is due in early December.(Remember!! Grover Norquist's brother is head of finance for HSD.)

Asked whether Homeland Security would build 698 miles of fence, department spokesman Russ Knocke would not say. Instead, he noted that department leaders announced last month that they will spend $67 million to test a remote-sensing "virtual fence" concept on a 28-mile, high-traffic stretch of border south of Tucson over eight months, and then adjust their plans.

The split between GOP leaders hungry for a sound-bite-friendly accomplishment targeting immigration and others who support a more comprehensive approach also means that the fence bill will be watered down when lawmakers return for a lame-duck session in November, according to congressional aides and lobbyists.

The office of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, on Thursday released a letter from House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., promising to ensure that Chertoff has discretion over whether to build a fence or choose other options. Homeland Security officials also must consult with U.S., state and local representatives on where structures are placed.

AND

SO MUCH FOR THE BORDER FENCENealz Nuze | Friday, October 6, 2006 | Neal Boortz

With great fanfare the other day, the president signed a bill approving a 700-mile border fence on the U.S.-Mexican border. Setting aside the fact that that's about 1,300 miles too short, it was seen as at least the administration doing something about illegal immigration.

But wait...stop the presses! All is not what it seems.

You see, the bill the Congress passed and the White House signed was just a "down payment" on the fence...$1.2 billion to be spent to start the construction. It is expected to cost much more than that. But today we get word that they money doesn't even have to be spent on the border fence....it can just be spent on border security, or whatever the Department of Homeland Security decides.

In fact, media reports today say the border fence might not ever be built. Evidently right after the proposal passed the Congress, lawmakers went to work to undermine it and be sure that it never happened. So there you have it...once again the do-nothing Congress continues to thwart the will of the people when it comes to the illegal alien invasion.

No wonder the GOP is losing its grip on Washington....they can't even do anything as simple as protect the border.